esearch is the major theme for this issue. We begin with an introduction to the Authority’s Research and Monitoring Coordination Unit. This introduction is followed by What’s Out There? which looks at a study that has been undertaken by Sea Research, on behalf of the Authority, to monitor inshore fringing reefs in the Cairns Section of the Marine Park.

Ray Berkelmans provides us with details about the automatic weather stations that have been installed on the Great Barrier Reef. These weather stations will serve as early warning systems for events such as coral bleaching.

Research provides us with many answers and indeed these answers are often used in management practices. In order for scientists to carry out research on the Great Barrier Reef though, permission must be given in the way of a research permit. The Authority has developed a new system for its research permits. Paula Tomkins, Alison Green and Adam Smith report on this new system.

A summary of the six augmentative research grants the Authority awarded to students for 2000 is included. Once again a glossary is included (page 32) to assist you understand some of the terms that are used in the article.

A summary of the results of the fine-scale surveys that have been undertaken during the last five years, for the crown-of-thorns starfish, in the Cairns Section of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is also included. The text is mostly taken from a report which was produced by Udo Engelhardt and others for the CRC Reef Research Centre. It is reproduced here as I know many readers are interested in the crown-of-thorns starfish story.

In Slick Talk Steve Raaymakers reports on a global project which aims to assist developing countries implement effective measures to control the introduction of exotic marine species.

Barry Hunter of the Authority’s Indigenous Cultural Liaison Unit writes about the initiatives that have been undertaken by many Indigenous communities to manage turtle and dugong.

I must offer apologies to Paige Rothenberger. In the last issue of Reef Research, Ms Rothenberger wrote an article on how encasement technology is being used in the restoration of mangrove forests. In that article Ms Rothenberger’s e-mail address was given incorrectly. The correct e-mail address is prothen@uvi.edu.

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Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
PO Box 1379 TOWNSVILLE QLD 4810. Phone: (07) 4750 0700, Fax: (07) 4772 6093
E-mail: registry@gbrmpa.gov.au